Let’s be blunt: Britain’s war on drugs has failed. From cannabis to crack cocaine, we’ve chosen criminalisation over compassion, prohibition over prevention and the result has been more addiction, more crime, and more lives destroyed.

I’ve worked in prisons. I run care services. I’ve seen the human cost of our broken policies—kids groomed into gangs, people with addiction sent to jail rather than treatment, families torn apart. It doesn’t have to be this way.

We need to legalise and regulate cannabis and we need to start having serious conversations about the wider reform of drug laws, including decriminalising hard drugs and investing in public health instead of punishment.

Cannabis is Britain’s most-used illegal drug. According to the ONS, over 3 million adults in England and Wales used it last year. Yet every gram bought illegally is fuelling a black market worth an estimated £2.6 billion.

That money doesn’t go to schools, hospitals or addiction services—it goes to organised gangs, traffickers, and violent criminals. In 2023, the National Crime Agency confirmed over 2,000 active county lines networks exploiting children to move cannabis and other drugs.

Legalisation would cut off that funding at the source. It would allow for:

• Regulated sales through licensed vendors
• Age restrictions and health warnings
• Controlled THC levels to reduce harm
• Tax revenue to reinvest in communities

Canada has shown this works. Since legalising cannabis in 2018, they’ve raised over C$1.5 billion in tax revenue, reduced black market activity, and introduced strict advertising and packaging rules. Public support has increased, not fallen.

Critics always ask, “If you legalise cannabis, what next—heroin?” But in Portugal, they didn’t legalise heroin. They decriminalised it—and the results are staggering.

The impact:

• Drug-related deaths dropped by over 80%
• HIV infections from drug use fell by 94%
• The prison population fell dramatically
• Drug use did not spike—especially among young people

As of 2023, Portugal has one of the lowest overdose death rates in Europe at 6 per million, compared to over 80 per million in the UK.

Switzerland took a bold step with heroin. They introduced medically supervised heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) for people with severe opioid addiction. Patients receive pharmaceutical-grade heroin in clinics, under medical supervision.

This programme didn’t create more drug users—it did the opposite:

• Crime among participants dropped by 60%
• HIV transmission plummeted
• Overdose deaths nearly disappeared
• Participants regained stable housing and employment

Switzerland’s policy now enjoys over 70% public approval. It’s been replicated in Germany, the Netherlands, and Canada.

Oregon decriminalised possession of all drugs in 2020 through Ballot Measure 110. While the rollout faced issues, the principle remains sound.

Already, arrest rates have dropped by over 90% for drug possession, and millions of dollars in cannabis revenue are being invested into addiction recovery services.

The UK approach is stuck in the 1980s – just say no, lock them up, and hope the problem goes away. But we know better now.

We know that addiction is a health issue, not a criminal one. We know that prohibition fuels crime, not safety. And we know that public opinion is shifting.

A 2023 YouGov poll showed 55% of Brits support cannabis legalisation, rising to 63% among young adults.

The British Medical Journal, Royal Society of Public Health, and Transform Drug Policy Foundation all support moving towards a health-based model.

What the UK could do right now

Here’s a roadmap for reform:

1. Legalise and regulate cannabis with age restrictions, taxation, and quality controls.

2. Decriminalise personal possession of all drugs like Portugal not to encourage use, but to reduce harm and offer help.

3. Invest in evidence-based treatment, including opioid substitution therapy, trauma-informed care, and mental health support.
4. Expunge criminal records for minor drug offences, giving people a clean slate to rebuild their lives.

As Liberal Democrats, we pride ourselves on following evidence, not panic. We speak for the marginalised, not the mob. That means standing up to the failed “tough on drugs” posturing of both Labour and the Conservatives.

Legalising cannabis is step one. But real reform means recognising that you don’t beat addiction with a baton you treat it with care.

You don’t protect communities by locking people up. You protect them by taking the power away from gangs and putting it back in the hands of doctors, educators, and support workers.

I believe in a Britain that leads with compassion and evidence, not fear and punishment.

* Mo Waqas is a vice chair of the Liberal Democrats' Racial Diversity Campaign and was the PPC for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East.